Amazon finally gets serious about the UK Kindle

After years of pretty much ignoring the United Kingdom e-book market and then the half-hearted attempt with "allowing" UK shoppers to buy a Kindle in the UK, Amazon is now finally taking things seriously with 2 revamped versions of the Kindle for the UK market.

Offering a complete make-over, 21% smaller and 15% lighter, the new UK Kindle offers double the storage and 20% faster page turns and 50% better screen contrast with more atractive price points of £149 for the 3G version and £109 for the wifi only version.  For the 3G versions, "Free" wireless 3G will be supplied by Vodafone.

I Can't help but wondering if a little "tablet style" device by the name of "Ipad" has had anything to do with this sudden change, e-book sales have increased dramatically since the launch of the "Ipad" and yet Amazon have been very tight lipped about the sales so far of the Kindle.

Pre-orders are now available online, with the actual release dated slated for the 27th August.

Guess what just went on my Christmas list...